What is HIPAA?
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is US legislation that protects the privacy and security of health information.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is US legislation that protects the privacy and security of health information. Any organization that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits Protected Health Information (PHI) must comply.
Key rules: Privacy Rule (defines how PHI can be used and disclosed), Security Rule (requires administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for electronic PHI), Breach Notification Rule (requires notification within 60 days of discovering a breach), and Enforcement Rule (penalties for violations).
For technology companies: HIPAA requires encryption at rest and in transit, access controls and audit logging, Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with all vendors handling PHI, incident response procedures, and regular risk assessments. Cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) offer HIPAA-eligible services with BAAs.
Why It Matters
HIPAA violations carry penalties up to $1.9M per violation category per year. More importantly, health data breaches destroy patient trust and can end healthcare technology businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is HIPAA?
US legislation protecting health information privacy and security. Applies to any organization handling Protected Health Information (PHI). Requires encryption, access controls, audit logging, and BAAs with vendors.
Does my SaaS need HIPAA compliance?
If you handle any Protected Health Information (PHI) — patient names, diagnoses, treatment info, insurance IDs — yes. If you serve healthcare customers, you need HIPAA compliance even if you only process PHI in transit.
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